Newsletter 03/15

March 2015

As I said in my February Newsletter, I have finished my book, titled Radiant Angel, and it will be released on May 26. You can read Chapters 1 and 2 for free by clicking here. If you like what you read, you can the book now, as I’ve already done.

Winter is still hanging on here in the Northern Hemisphere, and if you’re like me, this is a good time to go to garage sales and buy books written by other authors and throw them in the fireplace. The pages burn well, and the binding glue really puts out a lot of heat. Burning other authors’ books warms not only my feet, but also my heart.

Just kidding, of course. And here’s a book you should buy and read and keep on your bookshelf: Wine in Words: Notes for Better Drinking by my pal, Lettie Teague. Lettie is the wine columnist for The Wall Street Journal, and if you’ve ever read any of her columns you know that she knows her vino, and her writing is both informative and entertaining. As I wrote in my review, “Lettie Teague has written the first and only wine book I could read from beginning to end without getting a hangover.”

Wine in Words is available in bookstores on April 21 and can be pre-ordered now.

In my last Newsletter I recommended, The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook: Wickedly Good Meals and Desserts to Die For, to be published on March 24. I have contributed my secret recipe for pigs in the blanket, John Corey’s favorite food. For more information, click here. Proceeds from this book supports the Mystery Writers of America.

Also in my last Newsletter, I said that I’d have some updates on film, and what I’m doing for my next book. Well, no news from Hollywood, though the manuscript for Radiant Angel is being sent out to major studios and producers. As for my next book, I’m still developing a few ideas for a new series and a new character.

March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day, which is celebrated in a big way in New York City and other cities around the country. Last year my family and I were invited by Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, to join him for Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and breakfast at the Cardinal’s residence. After a good Irish breakfast we watched the parade on Fifth Avenue from the steps of St. Pat’s, then had lunch at the Cardinal’s residence. It was a great day and I’ve been invited again, meaning His Eminence didn’t notice the missing silverware.

But if you want to know what can go really wrong on St. Patrick’s Day in New York during the parade, read my novel, Cathedral. All my royalties from Cathedral go to the St. Patrick’s Cathedral Restoration Fund, so buy this book, go to heaven. Simple.

I want to thank all of you who have emailed me through my website and assure you that I read every letter. I wish I could reply personally, but if I did, my next book would be two years late. So please accept this Newsletter as my acknowledgement of your nice letters.

And finally, Passover and Easter are early this year, so I’ll use this March Newsletter to wish everyone of both faiths a happy and blessed holiday. Don’t eat too much.

Sincerely,